A Palestinian protester hurls stones at Israeli military vehicles during clashes in the West Bank city of Nablus on Aug. 9, 2022. Three Palestinians were killed and 40 others were injured early Tuesday in clashes with the Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian medics and eyewitnesses said.(Photo: Xinhua)

Gunmen wounded six Israeli soldiers and a civilian on Sunday when they sprayed bullets at a bus in the occupied West Bank, the army said.

The attack in the Jordan Valley, near the city of Tubas, extends a recent spate of violence in the West Bank and follows a shooting spree last month targeting an Israeli bus in annexed east Jerusalem.

It also follows months of often deadly Israeli army raids in the West Bank, many targeting Palestinian militants in the Nablus and Jenin areas - both near Tubas.

An Israeli military spokesperson said that the attack was carried out by three men - two from Jenin in the occupied West Bank, and one Arab Israeli.

Two of the suspects were arrested soon after Sunday's attack near the burnt-out remains of the vehicle they were thought to have used, and guns were found lying on the dirt road nearby. The bus's windscreen was peppered with dozens of bullet holes and a side window was smashed.

The Israeli military said one soldier was seriously wounded and five others and a civilian suffered lighter wounds.

The seriously wounded soldier had stabilized, and he was now in a moderate condition, the army spokesman later said, adding that the bus was a civilian vehicle being used to transfer new recruits. 

Medics said two gunshot victims were airlifted to hospital in the Israeli coastal city of Haifa.

Three others wounded by flying glass were taken to another hospital in northern Israel, according to the Magen David Adom emergency medical services.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz said security forces "immediately went in pursuit and got their hands on suspects in the attack."

The army said security forces were "continuing the searches" after the detention of two armed suspects.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid praised rescue and security forces "who acted swiftly and with determination" to treat casualties and apprehended the suspects, he said on Twitter.

On a dirt road near the bus, Israeli security forces surrounded a torched pickup truck reportedly belonging to the attackers.

The army spokesperson said the truck "caught fire, probably from a Molotov cocktail that was on the vehicle," noting the two arrested suspects were being treated for burns. 

The attack follows a shooting spree in August targeting an Israeli bus in annexed east Jerusalem. Eight people, including several US citizens, were wounded in the pre-dawn attack.

It also follows a spate of violent incidents in recent days in the West Bank. 

On Friday, a Palestinian was shot dead after stabbing and wounding an Israeli soldier at an army post near the flashpoint city of Hebron.

AFP